Game and toy apparatus.



B. Nl. WHITEKER.

GAME AND TOY APPARATUS.`

APPLICATION FILED APR. x6, 19|?.

Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

. "m l (Q K r B. M. WHITEKER.

GAME AND TOYIAPPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APH. Is. I9I7.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

BOSQUE M. WHITEKER, F HASKELL, TEXAS. Y

GAME AND TOY APPARATUS'.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Oct. 22, H87;

Application led April 16, 1917. Serial No. 162,236.

To all whom t may' concern.:

Beit known that I, BosQnn M. WHITEKER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Haskell, county of Haskell, State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in the Way of a Game and ToyApparatus, of which the following is a full specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a game and toy apparatus of the class whereinballs or arrows and the like are thrown from a spaced distance at anobject located and set up within the field of the throw forV the purposeof scoring according to the number of hits made or otherwise, and myinvention has for its principal obj ect the production of a game and toyapparatus of this character of new and uniquey design and which may beadapt-A ed to several different forms of games, or which may beadaptedfor use as a toy, it being'understood that the essence of my inventionresides in the apparatus itself, and not inthe adaptation of saidapparatus to any particularA form of game or toy; and any' particular'game which Amay be referred tol in' the course of this specification'and wherein. my apparatus is employed' is so referred" to' solely forthe purpose of illustration as aV particular example ofv my apparatus inactual use. Another object of my invention is' to construct suchapparatus` in a practical and substantialY form, and best adapted tomeet the requirements of actual use. Y Other'objectsand advantages willappear' inthe course of Y thisspecification.

In the drawings, Figure 1' is a perspective side view ofmy invention;Fig.A 2 is a detail of thjevpaddle wheel shaft, paddle wheels andrelease mechanism; Fig. 3 is a frontal elevation on the line' 3'3 inFig. 1'; Fig. 4.

is a detaillof the paddle lwheel release mechaanism; Fig. 5 is' adetailv showingrthe method of mounting the paddles upon the shaft.

Similar numerals' refer to similarV parts throughout theV severalviews.-

Referring-,inore particularly to the' drawing, theworkin'gl elements ofmy'invention are housed` within a suitable supportingframe, representedas a 'whole by A, made up of a plurality of vertical pillars as show-nat 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and a plurality of suitable. horizontalcross rails as shown at 9, 9', 10,110 and 11.,V A portion of the'pillars as 1,2, 3, and 4 located at the back end of the court may beextended upward as shown m theY drawings and a roof 12 may beprovided'for the purpose of shielding the apparatus from the weather.The working elements of my apparatus are mounted within thisprotectedend of' the frame A. Said working elements comprise arevolving' shaft 13 journaled at each end in the standards 14 and 15,which latter may be mounted upon the rails 9 and 10 as shown; mountedupon the shaft 13 are apluralityof polyhedral axle blocks as shown at 16in Fig. 5, there being one such axle block for each of the paddlewheels,which paddle wheelsy will be hereinafter described'. One end of each ofsaid axle blocks is extended to the side of its paddle wheel and isrounded at that end so as to form short hubs as shown at 17, 18d, 19 and20. Into each of said hubs, 17, 18', 19 and 20 are cut a plurality ofshallow notches as shown at 21, 22, 23 and 24 in Fig. 5, said notchesbeing arranged in parallelism with the shaft 13. Upon fthe sides of'each axle block are mounted paddles as shown at 2 5,- 26, 27 and'28- inFig-5. The method of mounting these paddles upon the axle block` isunique and depends upon the form and 4design of the paddle itself asshown indetail in Fig. 5,v wherein it will be noted that each paddle isformed with an outwardly facing transversely disposed cleat at one end`as shown at 29, 30, 31 and 32 in Fig. 5, and an inwardly facingtransversely disposed cleat located toward the middle ofthe paddle asshown at 33, 34, 35 and 36 ini Fig. 5;` the said cleats being so shapedand located that each respective outwardly facingl end cleat on onepaddle engages and locks into and with each inwardly yfacingtransversely disposed medialcleat on the adjacent paddle,`

by which dove-tail arrangement each set of paddles is securely lockedonto their respective axle blockwithout the use of nails, screws, orother permanent fastening, and are also as readily removed whendesired.

A plurality of such paddle wheels as shown, at 37, 38,39 and maybemounted upon the shaft 13.- Spring control latches-41, 42, 43 and 44are provided to control the rotation of the paddle wheels 37, 38, 39,and 40` upon the shaft 13. These latch springs are of coil formation,the inner endl of each coil as shown at 45vin Fig. 5being attached tothe shaft 13 adjacent to' its respective paddle wheel as shown at 37 inFig; 4, andthe outer end of the coil 46 being bent at right angles inparallelism with the shaft 13, and so disposed over the hub 17 as toplay frictionally into and out of the notches 21, 22, 23 and 24 as thepaddle wheel revolves, as shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. Each of thepaddle wheels 37, 38, 39 and 40 is similarly provided with a like springcontrol latch; and attached to and extending from each spring controllatch run release cords 47, 48, 49 and 50, same being extended overpulleys as shown at 51, 52, 53, and connecting with a main release cord54, which runs forward to the front of the court, and may be secured tothe rail 11 for the purpose of easy manipulation by the operator.

In the vpreferable construction of my apparatus, one paddle on eachpaddle wheel may be weighted, so that the free tendency ofthe paddlewheels unrestrained by the control latches, will be to turn theVweighted paddles downward, thereby normally maintaining the said paddlewheels in the same relative position when the control latches arereleased. Back of my apparatus is adjusted any suitable apron catch 59for the purpose of catching the objects thrown, as for instance theballs 60, 61, and 62 as shown, and in the case of balls, delecting sameinto the chute 63, and carrying them back to the operatorv at the frontof the court. A shield 64 of height just suiiicient to cover the lowerpaddles of the paddle wheels, is located immediately in front of thepaddle wheels for the purpose of stopping objects, as balls, arrows orthe like, which may be thrown too low.

In operation it will be noted that as the paddle wheels 37, 38, 39 and40 revolve upon Y the shaft 13, the Ycontrol latches 41, V42, 43 and 44follow the peripheries of the hubs 17, 18, 19 and 20, the ends of saidcontrol latches dropping into the transverse notches formed on the hubsas the wheelsrevolve.

The.frictional action of said control latches is adjusted to suchtension relative to the unbalanced paddles 55, 56, 57 and 58 as toovercome the normal downward tendency of said weighted paddles,and so asto sustain the paddle wheels at that point in the course of theirrevolution where the friction of the control latches falling into thehub notches is sufficient to overcome the momentum of the wheels. Thisprinciple is of service in carrying out certain forms of games as willbe hereinafter explained. Similarly, when the paddle wheels ceaserevolving and come to rest, and it is desired to return said paddlewheels to their original relative position, all that is necessary is forthe operator to pull upon the main release cord 54, whereby the controllatches 41, 42, 43 and 44 are drawn away from the hubs 17, 18, 19-and20, the stress of the main pull being transmitted through the connectingcords 47, 48, 49 and- 50, and the weighted paddles 55, 56, 57 and 58gravitate to the bottom. Pads, as shown at 65 in Fig. 5, may bc providedfor the paddles, whichv pads maybe permanently attached, or may besleeved so as to be readily removed or changed.

It is obvious that l have here designed a unique game apparatus, adaptedlikewise for use as a' toy when made up in small size. It is likewiseobvious that this apparatus as such may be adapted to a variety of formsof games, or to a variety of forms of toys. As a ball game, foreXample,rcertain of the paddles, selecting say one ea'ch of each paddlewheel, may carry the 4figure of a noted ball player as shown by theletters B C D and in Fig. 3, and that ball player may stand asrepresentative of any certain ball team or league, and the game mayconsist in the operator having five balls to throw for the purpose ofdisplacing any three of the iigures by striking those paddles with theballs, thereby causlng the wheels to revolve and displacing the figuresvoriginally shown with bare paddles, leaving only his selected ligureremaining in sight; or the game may consist in the operator knocking outany certain iigure in a certain number ofthrows by striking that figurewith the ball, and causing the wheel to revolve, or in lieu of thefigures the paddles may be numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 on each wheel, and thegame may consist in the operator, say infive throws, striking the wheelssuccessively so that when the wheels come to a `restany certain set ofnumerals will show along the faces of the paddles. These illustrationsare given merely as such, and it is'obviousV that a great variety ofcombinations and. forms of games may be played on this apparatus'.Likewise arrowsr or blunt javelins may be used as the percussive agencyagainst the1 paddles; orv where used as a toy, marbles may be employed.Y

While Ihave herein described a certain specific forni and design forthev construction of the several .parts of my invention, and theassembling ofthe same as a working whole, it is understood that Imayvary from said construction in minor details, not

departing from the spirit of my invention, so as best to construct myapparatus `to meet practical and Vvarious requirements.

For instance, while the drawings,` show a four bladed paddle wheel,thenumber may be increased or diminished by forming the axle blocks withfaces kto correspond tothe number required. Also while the paddles aredescribed as having cleats located thereon, such cleats mayconstitutecpart of selves. p Y

WhatIclaim iS: .Y 1. A game and ltoy apparatus comprising a frame;ashaft 'set therein; rotatable,

the integral formation of the paddles them-V polyhedral axle blocksmounted endwise on the shaft; demountable paddles locked to the faces ofthe axle blocks.

2. A game and toy apparatus compris in a frame; a shaft set therein;rotatable, po yhedral axle blocks mounted endwise on the shaft;demountable paddles locked to the faces of the axle blocks; andreleasa'ble means of control over the paddles.

3. A game and toy apparatus comprising a frame; a shaft set therein;rotatable, pohyhedral axle blocks mo-unted endwise on the shaft;unbalanced, demctmtable paddles locked to the faces of the axle blocks;and

' releasable means of control over the paddles.

4;. A game and toy apparatus, comprising a frame; a shaft set therein;rotatable polyhedral axle blocks mounted endWise on the shaft;unbalanced, interlocking, de-

i mountable paddle locked concentrically, outstandingly and transverselyaround the faces of the axle blocks; and releasable means of controlover the paddles.

5. A game and toy apparatus, comprising a frame; a shaft set therein;polyhedral axle blocks, having extended hubs bearing longitudinal,peripheral grooves, rotatably mounted on the shaft; paddles adjustedend- Wise and transversely to the faces of the axle blocks, said paddlesbeing so formed as to automatically interlock When placed in position; aspring latch attached to the shaft adjacent to each axle block, theouter free end thereof having frictional engagement with the hub groovesaforesaid; a release cord for each spring latch.

6. A game and toy apparatus comprising a frame; a shaft set therein; aplurality of paddle Wheels rotatably mounted on the shaft, each Wheelbeing composed of an axle block polyhedral on one end and bossed on theother end to form a hub bearing 1ongitudinal, peripheral grooves, apaddle for each side of the polyhedron, one paddle relatively heavier,and all formed and cleated so as to automatically interlock endWisearound the polyhedron; a spring latch for each axle block, one endthereof attached to the shaft, the other frictionally engaging the hubgrooves aforesaid; a release cord attached to each spring latch; a mainrelease cord connecting with the several release cords and extending tothe forward end of the frame; a shield located in front of and coveringthe lower rovs7 of paddles; a catch apron located at the back; a chuteleading from the catch apron to the front of the court. f

BOSQUE M. VVHITEKER.

Witnesses:

J. E. LEFLAR, J. D. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

